Believe it or not, but the proposed plan to upgrade the existing Municipal Solid Waste Treatment Plant (MSWTP) owned by Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) at Headland-Sada in Mormugao has literally become a distant dream for Vascoites and till today there is absolutely no clarity as to whether this dream would be fulfilled soon or not, with citizens now questioning the council for treating MSWTP like a garbage.

“The council takes pride for its solid waste treatment plant, but the ground reality is that the existing plant resembles more of a stink bomb. Sadly, during every election or cleanliness drives, leaders from make promises of making Vasco ‘garbage free’ but I feel Vasco will become garbage-free only if MMC upgrade or modernize its plant,” said Shivram Naik, a resident of Vasco.

Citizens’ ire against the Council on the issue of MSWTP is completely justified as the promise to upgrade the plant has been pending since 2008. At the same time it would also be pretty unfair to say that the current or even the former ruling council in the MMC did nothing on garbage front. Currently the council has achieved 90 per cent success in its door-to-door garbage collection scheme which is going on at all 25 wards. 

Similarly the Vasco MLA Carlos Almeida has already moved a proposal before the government for purchase of five new vehicles for garbage collection so that the old vehicles which frequently break down and hampers garbage collection at regular interval can be replaced. Last year, the Council, with the help of MLA Milind Naik, took initiative and though Goa State Urban Development Agency (GSUDA) a contractor, Eco Pro Environment Services was appointed to treat existing thrash dumped at Sada plant.  

From November 2016 to June 2017, the contractor managed to clear about 45 to 50 per cent of waste before taking a break for the monsoon. The deadline to clear all the existing garbage was before June 2018, so as to make the plant land ready for up gradation, but since the council continued to dump mixed garbage at the plant, the area that was cleared by the contractor is again filled with fresh garbage.

Sources in the MMC claimed that though the contractor had cleared earlier garbage, due to the rampant dumping of fresh mixed garbage the plant is facing similar situation like it was facing before and this might surely delay the proposed up-gradation plan of MMC.  

“I think this plant needs to be up-gradated on priority because the same is posing a health risk to the locals as well as to the patients who are admitted in the Mormugao Port Trust-run hospital located opposite the plant. I think the major issue of Mormugao taluka is not coal but garbage, as people of Sada are suffering. Municipality is discussing lots of legal and illegal issues but has failed to give proper attention to address this issue,”  former MMC chairperson Shekhar Khadapkar said.

Even Mormugao MLA Milind Naik is not happy with the way MMC is handling the issue of garbage plant. “I got the contractor for treating existing thrash so that we can start with up-gradation plan for garbage plant but it is sad to note that the area that was cleared from thrash was used again for dumping of fresh garbage, if this happens how can think of a new plant. Since council was not supporting the contractor, some five days ago I had raised the issue before DMA and directions were issued to MMC CO to cooperate with contractor and short out the issue,” Naik said.

 “Since last 11 years I am the MLA of Mormugao and before that I was MMC Councillor for one year. All these years I am trying to help the municipality to sort out this issue of pending upgradation of plant but it did not happened and now I feel that if the council works in similar manner then it will never happen even in future. Handling garbage is municipality job and government can only support municipality but if they (MMC) cannot handle this issue efficiently then why they are elected as councillors or chairperson,” Naik added.

Assuring to support the council for the proposed upgradation of the plant, he also suggested that MMC should now keep all other issues aside and should concentrate on garbage front as the plant at Headland Sada needs to be upgraded and that as fast as possible because people have been facing severe hardships due to the existing plant that still remains a ‘stink bomb’.